Device for securing carpets to stairs.



w. G. WINANS. DEVICE FOR SECURING OARPETS T0 STAIRS.

APPLICATION IILED 00T.2, 1913.

1,093,674, Patented Apr. 21, 1914. I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESLEY G. WINANS, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

DEVICE FOR SECURING CARPETS T'O STAIRS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WESLEY G. WINANS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Devices for Securing Carpets to Stairs; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for securing carpets to stairs. I

One object of this inventlon is to provide a device of this character which will be s1mple in construction, neat in appearance and which will positively prevent the shlfting or creeping of the carpet after it has been laid on the stairs.

A further object of my invention is to provide a. device of this character which can be readily detached from the stairs when 1t is desired to remove the carpet to clean the same.

with these objects in view and with the intention of securing other advantages which will hereinafter appear, my inventlon consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, hereinafter described in the specification and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 1s a view showing a portion of a stairs witlra carpet thereon and a pair of my devices 1n position. Fig. 2 is a section on l1ne 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view in perspective showing the device as it appears when taken apart.

Again referring to the drawings, a represents a portion of a flight of stairs and Z) represents a carpet arranged thereon. My device comprises in general a member which is adapted to be permanently secured in the riser of a stair, a member which is adapted to be detachably secured to the carpet and a clamping member for locking the first two mentioned members together. The member which is secured in the riser of the stair comprises a shank portion 10 which is preferably adapted to screw into the riser and a head portion 11 which is preferably similar to the head of an ordinary screw.

The member which is adapted to engage Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 2, 19 13.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914. Serial No. 793,059.

with the carpet consists of a flat rectangular metallic plate 14 and in said plate is formed a. key-hole-slot 15 which is adapted to receive the head 11 of the shank 10. At each corner of one side edge of said plate is formed a prong 16 which is preferably arranged at a right angle to said plate. At the opposite side of said plate is formed a flange 17 which extends in the same direction as the prong 16. The said flange 17 forms a support for the outer edge of the said plate 14 so that when the prongs 16 on the inner edge of said plate are inserted in the edge of the carpet the plate 14 will be approximately parallel with the riser of the stair. The clamping member consists of a narrow plate 18 which is slightly wider than the plate 14, and the said plate 18 is provided at each end with a leg or flange 19. The said clamping member is adapted to slide over the outer portion of the plate 14 and in the plate 18 is formed a slot 20 which extends from one side edge of the plate inwardly, and the said slot 20 is arranged to register with the smaller portion of the key-hole-slot 15 when the said clamping member is placed on the plate 14. The said slot 20 is made sufiiciently wide to receive the shank 10 but is too narrow to permit the passage of the head 10 therethrough.

When securing a carpet to a stairs with my improved devices the procedure is as follows :-If we assume that the carpet is laid from the top of the stairs downwardly, the top edge of the carpet is secured in any suitable manner to the top edge of the riser and the carpet is carried down over the face of the riser to the tread next below. A plate 14 is then placed at each side of the carpet against the face of the riser so that the prongs on the said plate will enter the carpet and the portion of the plate carrying the key-hole-slot will extend beyond the carpet over the face of the riser and the lower edge of the said plate will be in contact with the carpet at the angle formed by the tread and the riser. The shank 10 of the member which is permanently secured in the riser is then passed through the smaller portion of the key-hole slot and screwed into the riser, the locking member is then slipped over the outer end of the plate 14 so that the slot 20 will receive the shank 10 just below the head 11. After the locking member has been placed in position the shank 10 is screwed in until the head 11 tightly presses the said locking member against the plate 14 firmly clamping the plate 14 against the carpet and forcing the prongs thereon into the carpet. The carpet is, therefore, securely held in position so that it is impossible for the carpet to shift or bulge at the center. After the first set of securing devices have been placed in position the carpet is carried across the surface of the tread of the stair and is then carried down over the face of the next lower riser and another pair of devices is placed in position in the same manner as before described and so on down to the lowermost stair, a pair of devices being used to secure the carpet to each riser. When it is desired to remove the carpet from the stairs the locking member and the carpet engaging 'member of each device can be readily removed by simply unscrewing the shank 10, which permits the locking member to be withdrawn from the plate lat after which the prongs on the plate 14 can be disengaged from the carpet and the plate then slid up so that the larger portion of the key-hole-slot registers with the head 11 of the shank l0 and the plate can be lifted off of the said shank.

\Vhat I claim is,

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a member adapted to be secured to a stair at one side of a carpetarranged on said stair, said member comprising a shank portion and a head portion, a carpet engaging member comprising a plate provided with a slot adapted to permit the passage of the head of said stationary member and a locking plate arranged to slip over said carpet engaging plate, said locking plate being provided with a slot adapted to receive the shank of the stationary member below the head thereof.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a member adapted to be secured to a stair at one side of a carpet arranged on said stair, said member comprising a shankportion and a head portion, a carpet engaging member comprising a plate provided with a slot adapted to permit the passage of the head of said stationary member, said plate being provided with a pair of prongs at its front edge and a looking plate arranged to slip over said carpet engaging plate, said locking plate being provided with a slot adapted to receive the shank of the stationary member below the head thereof.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a member adapted to be secured to a stair at one side of a carpet arranged on said stair, said member co1nprising a shank portion and a head portion, a carpet engaging member comprising a plate provided with a slot adapted to permit the passage of the head of the stationary member therethrough, said plate being also provided with a pair of prongs at its front edge and with a supporting flange at its rear edge and a locking plate arranged to slip over said carpet engaging plate, said locking plate being provided with a slot adapted to receive the shank of the permanent member below the head thereof for the purpose set forth.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a member adapted to be secured to a stair at one side of a carpet arranged thereon, said member comprising a shank portion and a head portion, a carpet engaging member comprising a plate provided with a key-hole-slot, the larger portion of said slot being adapted to permit the passage of the head of the stationary member and the smaller portion of said slot being adapted to receive the shank portion of said stationary member, said plate being provided with a pair of prongs at its front edge and with a supporting flange at its rear edge and a locking plate arranged to slip over said carpet engaging plate, said locking plate being provided with a slot adapted to re ceive the shank of the permanent member below the head thereof.

In testimony whereof, I sign the foregoing spec'ification, in the presence of two witnesses.

WESLEY G. VVINANS.

\Vitnesses Vroron C. LYNCH, N. L. MoDoNNnLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

